1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an engine and, more particularly, to an engine utilizing steam to considerably reduce the exhaust pollutants and the use of the fuels.
The internal combustion engine has received much criticism of late with respect to being inefficient in that it wastes fuel and causes pollution. Between ecology and energy conservation, the internal combustion engine would be extinct if any other realistic motivation means had yet been discovered.
With the recent energy crisis, efforts have been tried to making engines more efficient as to the use of petroleum. Often the gains made towards ecology are sacrificed.
2. Prior Art
In an effort to achieve one or both of the goals stated above, numerous relatively new or formerly unused motivation sources have surfaced in the present technology. To this end, the rotary engine has met with at least a moderate amount of acceptance and success. But rotary engines still use petroleum fuels (not that much more efficiently) and produce pollutant wastes although possibly to a lesser extent.
Electric power has been investigated as a replacement for internal combustion engines, but problems have been encountered. First, the electrical power must be produced somehow. If petroleum or other natural resources are to be utilized to produce the electric power, at least one phase of the problem is not solved. But electrical power has more serious problems with regard to its efficiency in developing torque and output power. Particularly in the field of automobiles, electric power does not yet respond with the quickness desired, in fact almost necessary, for motor vehicles in our present fast paced society.
Even the steam engine, an apparently extinct species from days gone by, has been revived in various forms to meet the demand for lower fuel consumption and less pollution. A number of automotive manufacturers have experimented with steam engine designs, but apparently none have yet been successful. The steam engine concept has to some extent been combined with various other engines and concepts. The present invention is one example of a unique combination of steam and internal combustion concepts.